riddle@ut-sally.UUCP (Prentiss Riddle) (03/28/84)
Will Martin (seismo!wmartin) has pointed out to me that there are some
gaping holes in the summaries of net.cooks that I do in mod.ber. It
seems pretty clear by now that a significant portion of the traffic in
net.cooks never makes it out to ut-sally's corner of the net.
One example is the following miscellany of cookbook reviews posted by
Will some time back. I am reposting it now for two reasons: (1) so
those who missed it the first time can read it and enjoy; (2) so those
who missed it the first time can send me mail if they see it now.
Maybe if we're really lucky we can tell where the net.cooks traffic is
clogged.
--- Prentiss Riddle ("Aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada.")
--- {ihnp4,seismo,ctvax}!ut-sally!riddle
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Greetings to net.cooks! I've been off USENET for a year, and it's good
to get back!
I'd like to offer the following as input to the cookbook discussion:
One of the best Chinese cookbooks I've found is CHINESE TECHNIQUE by
Ken Hom with Harvey Steiman. This is more of a "how-to" guide than a
simple cookbook. It's a large-format hardback with many B&W pictures of
products, materials, and methods of preparation. It begins with an
illustrated encyclopedia of oriental ingredients and utensils, with
specific recommendations for those the author considers best, and how
to use them in cooking. Then it takes several basic areas and runs
through some recipes in each, with an illustrated guide to
preparation. With this and a little imagination and/or another
standard Oriental cookbook or two, you can master the techniques and
expand on the given examples to create an infinite variety of dishes.
Highly recommended not only by me, but by several friends of mine who
are interested in the topic, to whom I have shown it or given copies.
Simon & Schuster, 1981, cover price $16.95 -- the nice thing is that I
found a number of copies in a local department store (St. Louis --
Famous-Barr) on the reduced-price table for $6.00 each. (That was a
year ago, sorry...)
(Simon & Schuster has the worthwhile habit of dumping inventory every
now and then and good books appear on discount tables all over for a
fraction of list price... Keep an eye on your local bookstores.)
Another find on the discount table (this one was $1.99!) but which may
be hard to find, published by a small press (Strawberry Hill Press,
1980 -- original price unknown): A SURTI TOUCH -- ADVENTURES IN INDIAN
COOKING by Malvi Doshi. I haven't used this much, but a friend who has
spent some years involved with Indian cookery looked through it and
pronounced it to be definitely a good Indian cookbook.
Mexican cookery: There is no question that THE Mexican cookbook is
Diana Kennedy's THE CUISINES OF MEXICO (1972, $15.95, Harper & Row).
This volume covers the wide range of cooking styles to be found through
the diverse cultures of Mexico -- if you think of Tex-Mex as the only
"Mexican" foodstuff, this will raise your consciousness! (But it
covers all the bases.) Another later book by Kennedy in a similar vein
is RECIPES FROM THE REGIONAL COOKS OF MEXICO (1978, Harper & Row, price
unknown).
Italian cookery: If anyone remembers the PBS series "The Romagnoli's
Table", you will know of Margaret and G. Franco Romagnoli, who
presented a fun series to watch and have a number of cookbooks out to
inspire drooling... A number of these are available in paperback:
THE ROMAGNOLI'S TABLE
THE ROMAGNOLI'S MEATLESS COOKBOOK
THE NEW ITALIAN COOKING
If you aspire to progress beyond Franco-American, you can't go wrong
with the Romagnolis.
A couple general recommendations: for those who can get it (this is
restricted in geographic distribution, even by subscription), the
magazine SOUTHERN LIVING has many good articles and recipes each
issue. They also put out a series of cookbooks, culled from the
magazine recipes, of which we have half a dozen or so, and we refer
to them often. The publisher is "Oxmoor House", I believe.
Cookbook collectors will find it worthwhile to join the COOKING &
CRAFTS CLUB, one of the speciality book clubs affiliated with the
Book-of-the- Month club organization. The way to do this and get
cookbooks that average out to reasonable prices apiece is the way to
approach any book or record club -- join and get the three free (or
nominally-priced) initial selections, buy only the minimum requirement
(I think it's three) and resign. Then join again for another batch of
freebies. This way the price per book drops to a tolerable level, even
considering the excessive shipping charges such clubs impose.
As you might have been able to tell, we (the wife & I) are cookbook
accumulators/collectors. The more, the better... If there is interest,
I can post info on microwave cookbooks (the wife ran a microwave
cooking school & accessory store for a year or so) and other
specialities.
Regards,
Will Martin
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Remember, if you're seeing this now for the first time, please let me
know by mail at the address below. Thanks!
--- Prentiss Riddle ("Aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada.")
--- {ihnp4,seismo,gatech,ctvax}!ut-sally!riddleriddle@ut-sally.UUCP (Prentiss Riddle) (03/28/84)
Will Martin (wmartin@brl-vgr.ARPA) has pointed out to me that there are
some gaping holes in the summaries of net.cooks that I do in mod.ber.
It seems pretty clear by now that a significant portion of the traffic
in net.cooks never makes it out to ut-sally's corner of the net.
One example is the following miscellany of cookbook reviews posted by
Will some time back. I am reposting it now for two reasons: (1) so
those who missed it the first time can read it and enjoy; (2) so those
who missed it the first time can send me mail if they see it now.
Maybe if we're really lucky we can tell where the net.cooks traffic is
clogged.
--- Prentiss Riddle ("Aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada.")
--- {ihnp4,seismo,ctvax}!ut-sally!riddle
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Greetings to net.cooks! I've been off USENET for a year, and it's good
to get back!
I'd like to offer the following as input to the cookbook discussion:
One of the best Chinese cookbooks I've found is CHINESE TECHNIQUE by
Ken Hom with Harvey Steiman. This is more of a "how-to" guide than a
simple cookbook. It's a large-format hardback with many B&W pictures of
products, materials, and methods of preparation. It begins with an
illustrated encyclopedia of oriental ingredients and utensils, with
specific recommendations for those the author considers best, and how
to use them in cooking. Then it takes several basic areas and runs
through some recipes in each, with an illustrated guide to
preparation. With this and a little imagination and/or another
standard Oriental cookbook or two, you can master the techniques and
expand on the given examples to create an infinite variety of dishes.
Highly recommended not only by me, but by several friends of mine who
are interested in the topic, to whom I have shown it or given copies.
Simon & Schuster, 1981, cover price $16.95 -- the nice thing is that I
found a number of copies in a local department store (St. Louis --
Famous-Barr) on the reduced-price table for $6.00 each. (That was a
year ago, sorry...)
(Simon & Schuster has the worthwhile habit of dumping inventory every
now and then and good books appear on discount tables all over for a
fraction of list price... Keep an eye on your local bookstores.)
Another find on the discount table (this one was $1.99!) but which may
be hard to find, published by a small press (Strawberry Hill Press,
1980 -- original price unknown): A SURTI TOUCH -- ADVENTURES IN INDIAN
COOKING by Malvi Doshi. I haven't used this much, but a friend who has
spent some years involved with Indian cookery looked through it and
pronounced it to be definitely a good Indian cookbook.
Mexican cookery: There is no question that THE Mexican cookbook is
Diana Kennedy's THE CUISINES OF MEXICO (1972, $15.95, Harper & Row).
This volume covers the wide range of cooking styles to be found through
the diverse cultures of Mexico -- if you think of Tex-Mex as the only
"Mexican" foodstuff, this will raise your consciousness! (But it
covers all the bases.) Another later book by Kennedy in a similar vein
is RECIPES FROM THE REGIONAL COOKS OF MEXICO (1978, Harper & Row, price
unknown).
Italian cookery: If anyone remembers the PBS series "The Romagnoli's
Table", you will know of Margaret and G. Franco Romagnoli, who
presented a fun series to watch and have a number of cookbooks out to
inspire drooling... A number of these are available in paperback:
THE ROMAGNOLI'S TABLE
THE ROMAGNOLI'S MEATLESS COOKBOOK
THE NEW ITALIAN COOKING
If you aspire to progress beyond Franco-American, you can't go wrong
with the Romagnolis.
A couple general recommendations: for those who can get it (this is
restricted in geographic distribution, even by subscription), the
magazine SOUTHERN LIVING has many good articles and recipes each
issue. They also put out a series of cookbooks, culled from the
magazine recipes, of which we have half a dozen or so, and we refer
to them often. The publisher is "Oxmoor House", I believe.
Cookbook collectors will find it worthwhile to join the COOKING &
CRAFTS CLUB, one of the speciality book clubs affiliated with the
Book-of-the- Month club organization. The way to do this and get
cookbooks that average out to reasonable prices apiece is the way to
approach any book or record club -- join and get the three free (or
nominally-priced) initial selections, buy only the minimum requirement
(I think it's three) and resign. Then join again for another batch of
freebies. This way the price per book drops to a tolerable level, even
considering the excessive shipping charges such clubs impose.
As you might have been able to tell, we (the wife & I) are cookbook
accumulators/collectors. The more, the better... If there is interest,
I can post info on microwave cookbooks (the wife ran a microwave
cooking school & accessory store for a year or so) and other
specialities.
Regards,
Will Martin (wmartin@brl-vgr.ARPA)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Remember, if you're seeing this now for the first time, please let me
know by mail at the address below. Thanks!
--- Prentiss Riddle ("Aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada.")
--- {ihnp4,seismo,gatech,ctvax}!ut-sally!riddle